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Flash Thompson
Handsome and naturally athletic, young Eugene Thompson seemed to have a bright future ahead of him, but hidden darkness in his family set the stage for what became a life of wasted potential. His father, popular policeman Harrison Thompson, had a secret drinking problem, and it was all the Thompson family could do to hold him together at times. Alternating between anger and despair, the self-loathing Harrison took out his frustrations on his family, often treating Eugene abusively. Eugene, in turn, became a neighborhood bully, taking out his own frustrations on weaker and less popular children. One of his earliest and longest-running targets was Peter Parker, a bookish boy who later became the masked adventurer Spider-Man. Despite his often-obnoxious personality, football prodigy Eugene became one of the most popular (and most conceited) students at Midtown High, where his speed on the football field earned him the lifelong nickname "Flash". His wide circle of friends included Sean "Tiny" McKeever, Jason Ionello, Seymour O'Reilly, Charlie and numerous female admirers such as Sally Avril and Liz Allen, who was Flash's steady girlfriend for some time. The more popular Flash became, the more he mocked the shy Peter Parker; however, as Parker (secretly emboldened by his new spider-powers) became more confident, he began to stand up to Flash more often, and even took on Flash in a boxing match that ended with Flash being kayoed by a spider-strength jab that most onlookers misinterpreted as a lucky sucker punch. Flash continued to ride Peter despite this setback, and Peter generally tolerated Flash's abuse since he didn't want to risk revealing his super-powers or seriously injuring Thompson. Gradually impressed by Peter's maturity and sick of Flash's bullying, Liz dumped Flash and began showing strong romantic interest in Peter, which only made Thompson hate Parker all the more. Shortly after Spider-Man first appeared, Flash declared himself the wall-crawler's biggest fan, never dreaming that his hero was the same "Puny Parker" he so often tormented. As annoyed as Peter was by Flash in general, he was secretly touched and impressed by Thompson's enduring loyalty to Spider-Man. Flash founded the Forest Hills chapter of the Spider-Man fan club and took it upon himself to defend the oft-maligned Spider-Man's reputation, sometimes in reckless and foolish ways. When Flash impersonated Spider-Man in an attempt to teach Parker some respect for the hero, Flash was mistaken for the real thing and imprisoned by Doctor Doom until the true Spider-Man rescued him. When Flash and Peter graduated from Midtown High, both were awarded full scholarships to Empire State University (for athletic and academic achievement, respectively). By this time, relations between the two had begun to thaw ever so slightly, and both soon became part of a circle of friends that included fellow students Gwen Stacy,Harry Osborn (son of Norman) and MJ. By the time Flash left college to join the army, he and Peter parted as friends. During his tour of duty, Flash was stationed in Southeast Asia, where he stumbled across a hidden temple whose residents-notably the beautiful Sha Shan nursed a wounded Flash back to health, who became his next girlfriend. Ultimate Flash In the Ultimate Marvel, Fred "Flash" Thompson is again a jock who attends the same high school as Peter and bullies him. Later, Flash challenges Peter to a fight. Peter merely blocks a punch from Flash and manages to break his hand. Flash hangs out with another student named Kenny McFarlane. When Peter joins the basketball team, Flash's attitude changes, as he is loyal to his teammates. When Flash suddenly wants to talk to Peter alone for a moment on at least two occasions, Peter turns him down rather furiously, believing he just wanted to bully him in private. It was revealed after Gwen Stacy's death that he had a crush on her and was actually trying to ask Peter for help in approaching Gwen for a date. During the Silver Sable arc Flash is kidnapped, after being mistaken by the Wild Pack for Spiderman, who had only moments before disappeared into an alley Flash happened to be standing in. After realizing their mistake the group considered killing him. Flash is able to escape. This experience gives Flash a new level of popularity within the school especially after a TV movie is made about his ordeal. As revealed in Ultimate Spider-Man #65 his real first name in Ultimate Marvel continuity is Fred. Unlike most versions of the character, Flash doesn't idolize Spider-Man (that trait was primarily passed on to Kenny). Category:Allies Category:Heroes Category:Humans Category:Symbiote Hosts Category:Spider-Powered Characters Category:Venom Variations Category:Earth-616 Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Created by Stan Lee Category:Created by Steve Ditko Category:New Avengers Members Category:Thunderbolts Members